2019 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 27-32
Non-cuffed catheters (NCCs) are widely used to secure vascular access for emergency blood purification. We have actively used tunneled-cuffed catheters (TCCs), instead of NCCs, as indwelling catheters for emergency blood access (emergency BA), and have demonstrated the usefulness of TCCs for preventing decreased activities of daily living after rescue, shortening hospitalization and reducing catheter-related complications. This study aimed to determine the incidence of complications after the use of TCCs for emergency BA, including thrombus formation and venous stenosis in catheterized vessels. The study included 38 patients who underwent emergency blood purification and in whom TCCs were used for emergency BA during the treatment period. The examined TCC-catheterized vessels were the right internal jugular vein in 37 patients and the left in one. Intravascular lesions in catheterized vessels were noted in only two (5%) of the 38 patients. The low incidence of intravascular lesions after the use of TCCs for emergency BA suggests additional benefit of TCCs in preventing complications after rescue treatment with blood purification.
